Three weeks ago, I shared a photo of these mystery lice with you:

They were collected on Falco tinnunculus, a common kestrel, in Abu Rawash, Egypt on October 13, 1966. This species of Mallophaga has been found on half of the kestrel species. The subspecies rufa has been found to have variation in the size and shape of the temples of the head. The consensus at the time of the revision of this genus was that the similarity in head size seems to be concordant with the relatedness of the host (Clay, 1958).

In examination of multiple microsatellite loci in kestrels, individual heterozygosity has been found to reduce the risk of parasitism by lice (Ortego et al 2007). Such heterozygosity has been shown to be beneficial in many cases of genetic disorders with the reduction of expression of traits that do not increase individual survival.

Stay tuned for next week, when the 43rd Friday Night Lice mystery is solved!